Australia cuts interest rate by 0.5 pc

12:00 PM

For the first time since 1999, the Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the offical interest rate. The Bank dropped the rate this morning to 5.75 per cent - down 0.5 per cent.

Australia's banks are expected to move quickly to make similar cuts to their interest rates.

Today's announcement follows a series of economic surveys which showed business confidence was declining and the economy slowing.